SK Energy cooperates with Doosan Fuel Cell to build hybrid energy stations

SK Energy announced that it is in full swing to cooperate with Doosan Fuel Cell to establish the on-site hybrid energy stations that utilize fuel cells (Tri-gen) which can generate hydrogen, energy, and heat simultaneously, said Koreaittimes.

On-site is a system that generates hydrogen and directly uses it for charging. SK Energy, the oil business subsidiary of SK Innovation, signed a business agreement with Doosan Fuel Cell regarding “demonstration of hydrogen generation and utilization via linkage of hydrogen fuel cells and high-purity hydrogen production system” on November 21 (KST).

This agreement is a more concretized version of the MOU for “Joint development and industrialization of technologies to utilize rechargeable hydrogen fuel cells,” formerly signed by the two companies in August 2021. The agreement consists of the roles and responsibilities of the two companies: SK Energy takes charge of the provision, operation, and maintenance of its independently developed high-purity hydrogen production system, while Doosan Fuel Cell provides, installs, and maintains the Tri-gen, which can generate hydrogen, energy, and heat all at once using fuel cells. SK Energy is also to demonstrate the high-purity hydrogen production system linked with Tri-gen.

Both companies plan to finish the demonstration of the production system that can generate 99.99% high-purity hydrogen, as well as the recharging facility, in the first half of 2023. After that, they will establish a commercialized on-site hybrid energy station where both electric and hydrogen vehicles can be charged simultaneously.

A hydrogen charging station can generate approximately 1 ton of hydrogen per day, which is enough to recharge 200 hydrogen passenger cars or 30 hydrogen-powered trucks. At the same time, it is possible to charge EVs using the energy generated from Tri-gen, which opens the possibility of establishing hybrid charging stations once the applicable laws, such as the Electric Utility Act, etc., are amended.

Both companies are to cooperate step by step to expand hydrogen charging stations by 2026. Tri-gen, developed by Doosan Fuel Cell, utilizes 440 kW phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC). It has many advantages, such as a cost-competitive hydrogen supply for charging, a resilient response to the need for hydrogen for mobility, convenient charging for EVs, etc.

On the other hand, the high-purity hydrogen production system developed by SK Energy can generate 99.99% high-purity hydrogen out of low-purity hydrogen. The facility also has a lot of advantages, such as the miniaturization suitable for small on-site stations, reduction of operation costs, efficient operation through automatic control, a high recovery rate of hydrogen, and more. The technology that increases the purity of hydrogen to 99.99% is essential to charge hydrogen vehicles with the hydrogen generated by Tri-gen.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, South Korea's SK Global Chemical shut its small No. 1 naphtha-fed steam cracker in Ulsan permanently on Dec. 10, 2020, due to aging-related issues. The No. 1 steam cracker was able to produce 200,000 mt/year of ethylene and 140,000 mt/year of propylene. The company will keep normal operations of its No. 2 steam cracker at the same location. The No. 2 unit is able to produce 660,000 mt/year of ethylene, 350,000 mt/year of propylene and 110,000 mt/year of butadiene.

SK energy began in 1962 as Korea Oil Corporation, the first oil refinery in the country. The company has since contributed to national economic development by producing, exporting, and distributing petroleum products. SK energy's Ulsan Complex can process up to 840,000 barrels of crude oil per day, supplying petroleum products to both domestic and international markets.
mrchub.com

Uzbekistan’s MTO (Methanol to Olefin) Gas Chemical Complex Central Asia LLC has officially named Enter Engineering Pte Ltd as the EPC contractor for its project, Trend reports via the press service of the company.

The advanced methanol-to-olefin complex will be an anchor enterprise in a newly created Free Economic Zone in Karakul, Bukhara region. GCC MTO is wholly owned by Sanoat Energetika Guruhi LLC, Uzbekistan’s largest private oil and gas producer.

Enter Engineering Pte Ltd is the leading EPC contractor in Uzbekistan with wide experience in heading major industrial and infrastructure projects. The $3-billion contract covers the design, purchase of equipment and construction of facilities, together with essential infrastructure. Completion of the project is expected in late 2025.

Enter Engineering was selected based on its unique expertise and many years of experience in the oil and gas sector and industrial construction in Central Asia. Uzbekistan GTL, Kandym gas processing complex, a fuel filling complex in Tashkent and other landmark projects are among those which have been implemented by the company.

Based on a decision of the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the project has been designed in line with international norms and standards. The project is an example of global cooperation between local and foreign specialists using the latest achievements in the oil and gas sector. The list of companies working on the MTO GCC project includes John Wood Group Plc (UK), Topsoe (Denmark), Koch Industries Inc. (US), Chemtex Global Corp. (US), Scientific Design (US), Versalis (Italy), Sinopec (China) and Grace Catalysts Technologies (US).

The MTO gas chemical complex will become the largest enterprise of its type in Central Asia, with a capacity of 730,000 tons per year, which will satisfy the local demand for raw materials for the production of goods with high added value. The facility will manufacture four types of products: polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate and polyethylene terephthalate. The last three will be produced in the country for the first time.

We remind, the capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex will triple, investments in the expansion project will amount to USD1.8 billion. Uzbekneftegaz has launched a project to expand the Shurtan gas chemical complex in the Kashkadarya region in the south of the country. "The capacities of the Shurtan gas chemical complex, the firstborn of our gas chemical region, will triple," said President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the expansion project.

mrchub.com

Vopak and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) signed an MoU for the development of the value chain for CCS in the Southeast Asia region, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As part of the MoU, both companies will jointly study the development of the CCS value chain focusing on the CO2 emitted by industries in Singapore. This includes CO2 transport from a Vopak terminal for potential injection into the regional storage hubs developed by Petronas. The aggregation of CO2 emissions from various emitters in the Southeast Asia region is also part of the feasibility study. Both companies have the intention to invest in the development of CCS value chain solutions.

Chris Robblee - President Vopak Asia & Middle East said: “We are excited about this project with our long-term partner Petronas to jointly collaborate. This is well aligned with our commitment to support the energy transition through development of CO2-infrastructure for sustainable energy solutions and the decarbonization of the industry."

This collaboration is aligned with both companies’ ambition to support the transition to a low carbon future.

We remind, Petronas said it was studying the damage to interconnecting pipes caused by a fire last week at its refinery and petrochemical joint venture with Saudi Aramco. Petronas said last Thursday a fire and explosion occurred at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) located in the southern Malaysian state of Johor. No casualties were reported.

mrchub.com

Workers at bp's Rotterdam refinery, which is currently offline, will not help restart operations unless their wage demands are met, union leaders said on Monday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company said on Saturday it expected to have the refinery back on line "early" this week after an unspecified technical problem. Union leader Jaap Bosma of the CNV union identified the problem that impacted the refinery as a loss of steam.

He said that workers would help fix the resulting problems, but they would not assist to resume refining operations unless a new Wednesday noon ultimatum is not met. "We will help resolve the problems until the facilities are ready to be restarted, and then we'll stop, that's our intention," he said.

BP could not immediately be reached for comment. Workers at the refinery began a "work to rule" action at noon on Nov. 14 after failure to agree on a new contract that has been under negotiation since April.

Workers are seeking a pay package representing a 9.5% increase, citing current Dutch inflation rates above 14%, while management has offered a package including a 5% increase and a one-off 4,000 euro (USD4,092.80) bonus.

We remind, BP refinery in Rotterdam processes about 400,000 barrels of oil annually and is an important supplier of diesel to Northern Europe. BP's final offer in talks over a new collective labor agreement under discussion since April had been for a 5% wage increase and one-off bonus of 4,000 euros (USD4,000).

mrchub.com

KBR announced that BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Limited has awarded an optimization stage engineering services contract to SOCAR-KBR (SKLLC) for the Shah Deniz compression project in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea, said the company.

The project is in early pre-FID stage, said the company. SOCAR-KBR is a joint venture of Azerbaijan's state oil company, SOCAR, and KBR. The Shah Deniz compression platform project will be the first in the Caspian region to feature crewless operations, delivering unprecedented process optimization through cutting-edge, high-end technology.

Under the contract, SOCAR-KBR will support optimization and provide class-3 engineering services. Scope also includes engineering to enable integration of the new platform to the existing system and provide shore power to reduce the carbon footprint in support of BP's net-zero targets.

KBR recently completed the initial assessment for the flagship project using their proprietary KMIT (KBR Maintenance Information Tool) to provide detailed estimates of timing and resourcing of maintenance.

"We look forward to working with BP to achieve their goals of introducing novel, crewless operations to the region, while also lowering their carbon footprint, reducing operating costs, and eliminating personnel risks associated with such projects," said Jay Ibrahim, president of KBR's Sustainable Technology Solutions business. "KBR's technical innovation is paving the way for clients to more easily navigate their energy transition journey toward net zero."

We remind, KBR, Inc. (Houston) announced that it has won a contract from GS Caltex (Seoul, South Korea)for its planned plastics circularity project in South Korea. Based on KBR and Mura’s Hydro-PRT process, the 50,000-ton/yr unit will convert waste plastics into raw materials for conversion into new plastics, achieving total circularity.

KBR is a leader in energy transition and has extensive experience supporting sustainable energy projects across the globe.

mrchub.com